In and around Ndola
Whilst on SoapBox African Quest the mornings will be spent working with a variety of ministries. Some of them are listed below.
St. Anthony’s Children’s Village. This is an orphanage which has over 100 children ranging from babies to early teens. Many have been orphaned due to AIDS, others have been abandoned. SAQ visits once or twice a week to do simple physiotherapy with some of the disabled children (many with cerebral palsy), play games or run activities such as painting or crafts. Often we also end up feeding babies, changing nappies and giving much needed love and attention. In the past SAQ has also painted murals in the bedrooms and there is potential to paint further murals if there are talented individuals within the team.
Hut-to-Hut. You may have heard of door-to-door ministry at home, well in Zambia we have found great success in visiting people in rural communities as we travel from hut to hut by bicycle. This is partly due to a Zambian friendliness and hospitality you may never have experienced in other parts of the world. A key reason however, is that we are supporting and accompanied by Pastor Albert Ngosa. This ministry involves praying for the sick, encouraging believers, sharing the Gospel with those who are unfamiliar with it and generally being a helping hand where needed.
“I thought I had an idea what hut-to-hut would be like but it has completely surpassed all my expectations. It’s so much more than just sharing verses from the Bible. It’s awesome!” (James W. SAQ 2011)
Lifeline Zambia. This is an NGO bringing faith, hope and love to the needy and vulnerable. Work includes partnering with Zambian volunteers to help with Home Based Care projects visiting and sharing with those who have HIV/AIDs. Visits also include practical help such as washing dishes and clothes, fetching water, gardening and distributing food and medical aid. In April SAQ also helps Lifeline run a camp for orphaned and vulnerable youth within their projects. Here we run plenty of games, canoeing activities, swimming, volleyball, campfires as well as discipleship and health talks. More information about Lifeline can be found at www.lifelineinzambia.dk
Practical projects e.g. building, painting, plastering, renovation etc.
Youth work in our local community.
Elsewhere
As well as local ministries there are also 2 to 3 expeditions taking SAQ teams to different parts
of Zambia as well as into Malawi and Mozambique. Each year SAQ partners with School
Mission in Lusaka where the team take lessons and lead Scripture Union meetings. Use of
drama, testimonies and Biblical input form the basis of these sessions.
Some comments from past team members; “School Mission was AMAZING!” (Michael 2010)
“It was a challenge, but a good challenge.” (Dave 2010).
“I really enjoyed this as we had the opportunity to speak into these kids lives. It helped me
become more confident in speaking and trust the Holy Spirit’s guidance.” (James T. 201
“I felt quite nervous, which made it mentally exhausting. It was really good to be able to share
with all the school kids though (they’re at such a key time in life) especially as we were often
not much older than them so it felt like we could relate to them more easily.” (Emily 2011)
Whilst in Lusaka there is also some opportunity to work with street children.
In Malawi and Mozambique the SAQ teams work alongside Pastor Rogers who oversees around
350 churches. Time is spent in a mountain village (where SAQ teams have been the only
white visitors) leading church services, men’s and women’s meetings and generally living a
very different lifestyle for 3 to 4 days. We then move on to doing hospital visits in Nsanje (south
Malawi) before travelling across the border into Mozambique where many more churches
eagerly wait for our visits. We also camp in many of the bush villages we visit, doing children’s
work, practical work and joining in community life as we continue to support the churches
there.